Birds of Passage Author:Robert Sole An evocative novel set in Egypt-winner of the Prix Mditerrane. The Batrakanis are a family caught between worlds, birds of passage who have left Syria and come to rest in the extraordinarily cosmopolitan Egypt of the first half of the twentieth century. Their patriarch is Georges Bey Batrakani, a man driven by the desire to achieve wealth. Hi... more »s chosen method is manufacturing the tarboosh, or fez-like the Batrakanis, the product of another culture-that has become Egypt's national emblem. For four generations the Batrakanis prosper against the backdrop of English occupation and two world wars. But in 1952 Cairo's European quarter is set on fire and King Farouk is overthrown, leaving Egypt to be ruled by Egyptians for the first time since the pharaohs. The tarboosh goes out of fashion and the Batrakanis, their love affair with Egypt over, must move on to start another exile elsewhere. In this charming, poignant novel Robert Sol evokes the mood and flavor of Cairo as Egypt inches toward independence.« less